Midnight Waters

prologue

The dark water rippled as the woman stretched out a hand, beckoning the child closer. Her skin was shimmery, slippery, and a bit blue, like she'd been in the water for far too long. But her smile was warm, and so the child came.

The water gathered around the girl's ankles as she stepped in, trying to reach the woman. It was cold. She hesitated, remembering what her mother had said, but the woman waved her closer once more. In her hand she held pretty trinkets, little shiny rocks and colored glass rounded from years in the water. The little girl loved pretty things. She giggled and hurried through the water, her hand outstretched.

A shrill scream cut through the chill air.

The child flinched and turned towards the waters edge, where her mother stood with her hands over her mouth. Her mother was staring at the woman in the water, fear painted across her features. The little girl didn't understand. The nice lady was just showing her pretty rocks.  She turned back to the woman, babbling nonsense, when the woman grabbed her upper arm tight and dragged her towards her. Her mother screamed again as the girl struggled to keep her head above the water. She was much too little and hadn't yet learned to swim. Confusion and fear set a track of tears down her face.

"Please—" She heard her mother cry, "—please, let my baby go!"

The woman's hand was cold and slimy on her arm. Trying to pull away, the girl began to shiver in the water. She wanted to go to her mother, who was wading slowly towards them. She heard the woman say something to her mother, but her head was just barely above the water. The mother cried out helplessly as her daughter slipped beneath the water's surface.

It was dark under the water. Cold. The girl kicked out her feet but there was nothing beneath her. She no longer felt the woman's hand on her arm. She was floating aimlessly in the dark water.

So cold.

The child clenched her eyes tight, shutting out the scary faces she imagined swimming towards her in the water.

It was getting even darker. The cold pressed in on her, and she coughed, water shooting into her lungs.

Darker and darker until that was all she could see.

She coughed again, but this time the water left her lungs. Hands cupped her cold face, warming her cheeks, and she opened her eyes to find her mother kneeling over her, tears shining in her eyes.

"Oh, my baby, my sweet baby," she cried, pulling the shivering child into her arms.

The woman in the lake simply stared at the pair, water dripping from her eyelashes.

"Remember," She warned, before she slipped beneath the water.